Bloomberg Businessweek stated that its ranking of full-time MBA programs "judges business schools on how well they serve their two main constituencies: students and corporate recruiters." The survey is based on three elements: a poll of newly minted MBAs; a poll of corporate recruiters on the quality of graduates; and an evaluation of faculty research output.

Of the business schools in the Top 10, Darden is rated the highest for faculty. The magazine describes the attributes of top faculty as: "a compelling classroom presence, an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, easy availability after class and a research record second to none."

Darden also received the second highest score among Top 10 business schools in the survey of students. In Bloomberg Businessweek's "graded" categories, Darden received all "A's": an "A+" in career services, teaching quality, critical thinking and leadership skills and an "A" in caliber of classmates.

"We at the Darden School of Business strive to offer the world's best educational experience," said Darden Dean Bob Bruner, "and we are gratified when our stakeholders - including students, alumni and corporations - publicly express their satisfaction with the Darden experience."

Darden's recruiter ranking - the quality of graduates as reported by recruiters - improved from 16th to ninth in 2012, and the School' s overall index in the ranking rose from 81 to 89.4.

The magazine's Top 10 U.S. business schools for 2012 are:

Chicago (Booth)

Harvard

Pennsylvania (Wharton

Stanford

Northwestern (Kellogg)

Duke (Fuqua)

Cornell (Johnson)

Michigan (Ross)

MIT (Sloan)

Virginia (Darden)

Bloomberg Television will report live today from the Darden School of Business, as the exclusive broadcaster of the fifth annual University of Virginia Investing Conference, "After the Election: Realities, Opportunities and Challenges for Investors."

About the Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business is one of the world's leading business schools, offering MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. The unique Darden experience combines the case study method, the highest-ranked faculty whose research advances global managerial practice and business education, and a tight-knit learning environment to develop principled and complete leaders who are ready to make an impact.